Flu virus mutates so quickly that one year's vaccine won't work on the next year's common strains. But a new way to create vaccines, called 'rational design,' might pave the way for more lasting solutions.

GMOs may very well have filled up that syringe.
Syringe image via www.shutterstock.comJuly 27, 2016

On December 3, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Health Alert Network advisory indicating a possible strain mismatch in this year’s vaccine. After the usual brief flurry…

Ginseng, the root of the plant Panax ginseng, is one of the most commonly used herbal medicines and is often sold as an over-the-counter remedy for fatigue. Although it has been used by humans for thousands…

Influenza viruses rapidly evolve in shape, making it hard to develop protective vaccines against them. Despite a great deal of study, scientists have been at a loss to forecast their evolution in any detail…

Viral workload: how did H7N9 make the human-to-human leap?
James GathanyAugust 22, 2013

The H7N9 virus is thought to have been transmitted between a 60-year-old man in China and his 32-year-old daughter, who cared for him. Experts said she had been previously healthy and, unlike her father…

Facts about Flu - Ever wondered what flu classifications mean? Read on. The pandemic influenza strain, or swine flu, that spread globally in 2009 was referred to as H1N1 and the new bird flu currently…

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Senior Lecturer, School of Computing and Information Systems, and Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne